Die, Angeles Crest Highway, Die!

Regional discussion and conditions reports for the Golden State. Please post partners requests and trip plans in the California Climbing Partners forum.
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Luciano136

 
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by Luciano136 » Wed Jan 27, 2010 12:11 am

fatdad wrote:
ksolem wrote:I think riding a bike up to Willie from Red Box would be brilliant (with no traffic.) It's not like you need to carry a double set of cams and two ropes.


That would not be an insignificant ride. What, about 25 miles one way with that long climb up to Buckhorn Summit or whatever it's called. It'd be a beaut though.


That's what I was thinking. With all the extra time biking, I'm sure you could get to sweeter rock climbs than Williamson.

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simonov

 
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by simonov » Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:47 pm

I like to think I am a practical person.

I will endorse Gary's idea simply because the state of California can no longer afford to maintain a road that no one really needs.

It's well beyond the time when the residents of this state need to start thinking hard about what we really need and what we don't really need.

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Guyzo

 
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by Guyzo » Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:01 pm

Luciano136 wrote:
That's what I was thinking. With all the extra time biking, I'm sure you could get to sweeter rock climbs than Williamson.



Hold on there just one second. :shock:

Have you ever climbed at "Willie" :?:

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Luciano136

 
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by Luciano136 » Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:19 pm

Guyzo wrote:
Luciano136 wrote:
That's what I was thinking. With all the extra time biking, I'm sure you could get to sweeter rock climbs than Williamson.



Hold on there just one second. :shock:

Have you ever climbed at "Willie" :?:


I have not but I do know that biking 25mi uphill would probably be 2.5h. If I use that time to drive somewhere, willie would have to be better than anything in Joshua Tree, Tahquitz, Big Bear etc. Heck, if I add the time it takes to drive the Red Box, I can even make it to Lone Pine! So, even if Willie is awesome, it has some serious competition.

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Guyzo

 
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by Guyzo » Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:32 pm

Luciano136 wrote:
Guyzo wrote:
Luciano136 wrote:
That's what I was thinking. With all the extra time biking, I'm sure you could get to sweeter rock climbs than Williamson.



Hold on there just one second. :shock:

Have you ever climbed at "Willie" :?:


I have not but I do know that biking 25mi uphill would probably be 2.5h. If I use that time to drive somewhere, willie would have to be better than anything in Joshua Tree, Tahquitz, Big Bear etc. Heck, if I add the time it takes to drive the Red Box, I can even make it to Lone Pine! So, even if Willie is awesome, it has some serious competition.


Willie, IMHO, sports some of the best climbing on the west coast. It is very unique with steep, hard, technical rockclimbing in the 11 to 13 range and brilliant moderates in the 7 to 10 range. Besides the bike ride would be worth it just for the good frog gaffin, them yellow legged ones are pretty tasty.

If the road went to the last of the camps or the Ski area, that would be pretty cool. You could access some very nice countryside on foot or on a Mt. Bike. This could be some sort of a giant "Park" in LA county.

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x15x15

 
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by x15x15 » Thu Jan 28, 2010 11:12 pm

Gary Schenk wrote:
x15x15 wrote:... so get off of your high horse ...


Whoa. When x15x15 tells you to get off your high horse you've obviously gone too far. Tonight I will start hauling bags of fill to the washout in an effort to make amends.

Happy driving, all!


well gary, you are on a high horse. fortunately, so am i, so i can see above your bullshite...

still waiting for your bags of fill, or are you all talk?

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fatdad

 
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by fatdad » Thu Jan 28, 2010 11:19 pm

Guyzo wrote:
Luciano136 wrote:
Guyzo wrote:
Luciano136 wrote:
That's what I was thinking. With all the extra time biking, I'm sure you could get to sweeter rock climbs than Williamson.



Hold on there just one second. :shock:

Have you ever climbed at "Willie" :?:


I have not but I do know that biking 25mi uphill would probably be 2.5h. If I use that time to drive somewhere, willie would have to be better than anything in Joshua Tree, Tahquitz, Big Bear etc. Heck, if I add the time it takes to drive the Red Box, I can even make it to Lone Pine! So, even if Willie is awesome, it has some serious competition.


Willie, IMHO, sports some of the best climbing on the west coast.


You think so? I'm glad Williamson has some loyal fans, but I never really thought it was all that great. Kind of chossy granite, a bit too much "cleaning", but convenient and in a nice setting. I certainly wouldn't drive for it if it wasn't in our backyard.

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Say yes to crack

 
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by Say yes to crack » Thu Jan 28, 2010 11:29 pm

Let it die and let them little Yellow Legged Frogs have their way
Last edited by Say yes to crack on Fri Jan 29, 2010 12:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Luciano136

 
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by Luciano136 » Fri Jan 29, 2010 12:10 am

I'd be totally fine with closing the area at the ski areas. It pretty much was like that for a while when the frog closure was in effect. I biked to Islip saddle then, snowshoed to Dawson saddle and went up Mt. Lewis. I didn't see another soul the whole day. It was magical.
Image

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Luciano136

 
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by Luciano136 » Fri Jan 29, 2010 1:23 am

butitsadryheat wrote:nice pic


Thx :) . One of the most relaxing days I ever had out there.

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Guyzo

 
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by Guyzo » Fri Jan 29, 2010 5:18 pm

Say yes to crack wrote:Let it die and let them little Yellow Legged Frogs have their way



I would agree, only problem. There are no yellow frogs there, never were, ever. The whole closure is a scam.

gk 8)

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ksolem

 
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by ksolem » Sat Jan 30, 2010 6:29 pm

I find it interesting that these San Gabriel Mountains, which John Muir himself called “the most impenetrable range I have ever seen,” have many, many, many miles of wild canyons and creeks which are virtually inaccessible to any humans other than the very hardiest adventurers. Yet somehow this little roadside creek which is easily accessed by a few grad students is declared to be the last refuge of the yellow frog, and the remaining 200 of these animals in the entire range live there.

The truth is that there was some bad blood between a few climbers and the Rangers years ago, and the Man decided to stick it to the climbers. They could be very easily doing everything needed to research and save (if possible) the yellow frog, and we could have had access to Williamson the whole time with zero problem. This whole deal is bs, and I am sick of folks beating around the bush about it.

On topic, I am also against closing the ACH. And to those who say “Well then you would connect the roads through King’s Canyon, or Mineral King" I can only laugh. The one is not the other. What about that deisel tour bus and winnebago infested through road from Lee Vining to Yosemite Valley? And how about the through roads in Joshua Tree? I've been saying for years that the west entrance road should end at Trash Can Rock, and the 29 Palms entrance road should and at Jumbo Rocks. The place would be way better off like that.

Grumpy today. Don’t mess with me.

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Tom Kenney

 
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by Tom Kenney » Sat Jan 30, 2010 7:40 pm

ksolem...

It's not just climbers. If you recall, the Little Rock Creek drainage is closed between the reservoir and Cedar Springs. This was ATV turf, and suffered considerably more damage than Willi.

And, yes, there are more than a few canyons where people don't or can't go...are the froggies attracted to humans? :roll:

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fossana

 
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by fossana » Thu Feb 04, 2010 10:23 pm

Just heard this morning on NPR that ACH will be closed from La Cañada to Islip for another 1.5+ months. Enjoy it while you can.

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